The manifestation of God in the flesh should not be limited to church meetings but should also be found in all the areas of our daily life, such as our family life, marriage life, school life, and professional life. First Timothy 2:2b says, “That we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity.” In all godliness means that there should be the manifestation of God in every aspect of our life.
Taking care of godliness in our daily living is a salvation. In Philippians 2:12 Paul says, “So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” We may wonder why we need to work out our salvation when we have already been saved. The reason is that we all need to be saved daily from a life that does not manifest God. To lead a life in all godliness is to work out our salvation in fear and trembling.
We need to consider whether we live a life in all godliness. The church is the house of the living God. The living God is within us. He desires to be manifested from within us in our family life, marriage life, church life, meeting life, daily life, school life, and professional life. If we will contact Him and fellowship with Him, He will be lived out through us. Such a living requires our obedience, as mentioned in Philippians 2:12. The living God within will live out a godly life, but He needs our cooperation. Our cooperation is our obedience.
Verse 13 says, “For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working.” The living God is operating in us both to will and to work. We do not need to do anything; we only need to obey God’s inner operating. God lives in us, and He will work Himself out in our living. If we obey His working, we will spontaneously drop all ungodly things. We will experience something of life from within. This life is God Himself living in us. Eventually, we will live a daily life in all godliness.
We should manifest God, not the current of this age. Among us there should be the manifestation of God in the flesh in all the areas of our life. We need to contact the living God, fellowship with Him, and obey Him. He will not correct us from without but will transform us from within. He will transform every part of our being, and the issue will be the manifestation of God in our flesh.
First Timothy 2:10 says, “What befits women professing godly reverence, by good works.” It is good for the sisters to profess godliness. Then 4:7-8 says, “Exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and of that which is to come.” We need to exercise ourselves unto the manifestation of God in our flesh in all things. Paul compares exercise unto godliness to bodily exercise. Physical exercise benefits our health, but it is profitable only for a little. It does not compare to the profit of exercise unto godliness. Exercise unto godliness is profitable for all things.
After George Müller was saved, he became a godly man. The first thing he did every morning was to read the Bible and pray, mingling his prayer with the reading of the Word. Müller’s practice to combine his prayer with his reading of the Word of God no doubt contributed to his long life. The word of God washes away our worries and anxieties and brings us joy. Practicing to receive the joy of God every day through reading and praying over the Word will help us to be healthy both spiritually and physically.
We need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. God created man with a will, and He still honors the will of man in his fallen condition. Repentance, believing, and being baptized all depend on the use of our will. We need to set our will to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We can pray, “Lord, I am weak, but You are within me. Lord, help me, strengthen me, stand with me, and empower me to exercise myself unto godliness in all things.” In cutting our hair, we can exercise ourselves unto godliness. In buying a pair of shoes, we can pray, “Lord, is this pair of shoes suitable for the manifestation of God?” We need to pray, “Lord, does hanging this picture in my living room manifest God?” If we pray in this way, the Lord will speak to us and lead us in living a godly life. This is to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We should pray and seek the Lord to live a life in all godliness and to exercise ourselves unto godliness in everything.